I noticed these brown, dry spots on a pothos plant. They seem to have grown slightly in the past month or two.
The plant is a bunch of cuttings I potted 5 months ago. The plant is in 60/40 tropical soil and perlite mix. It's in a 4" ceramic pot, watered once a week (basically until dry, and then I water thoroughly). Besides these spots, it seems to be doing well, with new recent growth.
Pic #4 (upright leaf) is an old leaf from a water-borne plant that sits next to it. I'm afraid it might be thrips :(. I had fruit fly invasion a few months ago.
by Gridsquare_Collector
3 Comments
Following as I have seen this before.
Check the undersides of the leaves for trespassers – thrips. Little white, yellow or black dots. If there is nothing to evict, check the roots. – If the roots are black/slimy/smelly, remove all effected roots and re-pot with fresh soil.
IF you need to evict squatters, wash the plant – 2 teaspoons of Castile soap per 1-liter of water and a soft cloth – gently but with purpose wipe the whole plant down and really focus on the undersides of the leaves. Remove the top inch of soil and replace it. Cover the new top soil in a thin dusting of diatomaceous earth to prevent the next generation from spawning. If you top down water you will want to refresh that dusting, Diatomaceous earth is only effective if dry.
~Edit, to note, you can lightly dust the underside of the leaves in Diatomaceous earth as a bonus barrier to their return.
Check for really small pests called thrips. If not I’d say a fertilizer/ nutrient issue